16. William Taplin
William was a shoemaker 1818/19, otherwise a labourer when the children were baptised.
At the same time, another William Taplin was managing an inn in Hook Norton:
"Under Cross (d. 1779) the Bear became a prominent coaching inn. (fn. 44) His son Charles, who operated a Stamp Office there, was made bankrupt in 1789 for debts of over £15,000 to the Crown, which sold the inn in 1790-1 to the duke of Marlborough. (fn. 45) Noted innkeepers included William Hanks from 1798, William Taplin in the 1820s, and Alderman William Margetts in the 1830s and 1840s. (fn. 46) From 1625 until the early 18th century the owners of the Bear held Butt close, later part of Woodstock House grounds, as a source of hay and pasture; later the duke let the inn with land in Hensington which retained the name Bear Close when built on in the 1930s. (fn. 47)
from a history of buildings in Hook Norton from 1767 website www.british-history.ac.uk/report
Woodstock buildings, in book History of County Oxford."
17. Elizabeth Lynes
Census of 1851 states she is 63. Also states she is living with daughter Hannah, listed as a pauper. Living in Osford-south.
In notes from "Bloxham Village & Folks" by David Gibbard, links her with Alms Houses. (See notes in paperwork). Book also indicates she was the village nurse for "women's things". Silver haired, very petite.
from John Prusia
E. George Caleb Prusia Sr. (2-13-1792 to 3-9-1880)
b: Berks Co. Penn. d: farm near Buckeye, Jackson Co. Iowa bur: Buckeye (Van Buren) cem.
occupation: merchant (tanner, boots, shoes) and later farmer
m: Rebecca Clayton (3-25-1798 to 11-10-1832) btw. 1815-1821 in Dansville NY
(Washtenaw Co. Mich . records also show a marriage for them in about 1829)
b: (prob) Northampton Co. Pa. d: Ann Arbor Mich. bur: Zion Church cem. Scio (Ann Arbor)
m: Louisa Rosalia Snell (1800 to 8-30-1845) abt. 1835 in Ann Arbor Mich.
b: d: farm near Buckeye, Jackson Co. Iowa bur: small abandoned cem. about 1 mi south of Buckeye cem., on a private farm, about 2½ mi. NE of Preston Iowa
m: Frederica S. Dorale (12-14-1837 to 5-18-1912) on 9-20-1853 in Jackson Co. Iowa
b: d: Preston Iowa bur: Buckeye (Van Buren) cem. NE of Preston Iowa
F. GEORGE CALEB PRUSIA SR. George Caleb Prusia Sr. was born February 13, 1792 in Berks County, Pennsylvania. (There are records showing that George was born in each of three states, namely Pennsylvania, New York State, and Vermont, but census records would indicate that he was born in Berks County, Pennsylvania. His father was Christian Prusia, and his mother was either Frederica (Kephart) Prusia or an earlier unknown wife of Christian. Records tend to indicate that Frederica was his mother.He lived most of his boyhood years in Berks County, Pennsylvania. At a early age of manhood he migrated to Livingston County, New York, where he lived for about ten years and followed the trade of a tanner. Somewhere between 1815 and 1821, he met and was married to Rebecca Clayton at Dansville, Livingston County, New York.
Note: Washtenaw Co. Mich. records show a marriage of George and a woman with the last name Clayton “Abt. 1829”.
Rebecca Clayton was born March 25, 1798, in Livingston County, New York [see note below]. She was a daughter of Edward Clayton [see note below; his name was Charles Edwin Clayton], who was born in England, and who, on account of his liberalism and his courage in expressing his views, was driven from England to America, where he farmed near Dansville, New York. His wife's name was Christiana Clayton.
Editor’s Note (2003). We now have additional information on Rebecca Clayton and her ancestry. See notes following George Sr.’s history.
Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. George Caleb Prusia while living near Dansville, New York. They were: Azariah Prusia, born November 13, 1822; Isaiah Prusia, born about 1825; and Emeline Prusia, born in late 1825 or early 1826.
Sometime in 1826 the family moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan. George's brother Christian Prusia Jr. moved with them to Ann Arbor. George Prusia Sr. and his brother established a tannery. It was the first institution of its kind in Washtenaw County, Michigan. George also took up land and prospered. Four more children were born in Michigan. They were: George Prusia Jr., born April 14, 1828; Caleb Prusia, born August 24, 1830; a son (a twin), not named, born October 29, 1832; and Rebecca Prusia (a twin), born October 31, 1832.
Early in 1830 George's younger brother Christian Prusia Jr. moved over to Jacksonburgh (now called Jackson), and started a tannery in that village. The area was too primitive and the tannery went out of business in 1832. Christian Prusia Jr. then moved back to Ann Arbor and worked with his brother in the tannery. The brother Christian Prusia Jr. passed away in 1835 [See history of Christian Prusia Jr., and his descendants (Book 6 Chapter 3)].
George's wife Rebecca (Clayton) Prusia, while still a young woman, died November 10, 1832 at the age of 34. She was buried in a small cemetery adjacent to a new German speaking Zion Church at Scio. The members of the Church had organized and called themselves "The First German Evangelical Society of Scio", of which both Christian Prusia Jr. and George Caleb Prusia Sr. were members. Christian Prusia Jr. was one of the Trustees of the church society. [See the chapter “The Germans” from “Ann Arbor, The First Hundred Years,” by Stephenson, which is set out in Bk3 Ch.2]
In 1845 this church and cemetery were abandoned for a new German speaking church at First and Washington St. in Arm Arbor. This church was called "Bethlehem Church", Later, cows were allowed to graze in the abandoned cemetery, and part of the land was farmed. Many of the tombstones and markers fell over and broke up. Years later, what graves that could be identified were taken over by the Evangelical Church of Ann Arbor and the graves were moved to the Church's new cemetery on 28th St. in Ann Arbor. (We could not find any church or cemetery record that Rebecca (Clayton) Prusia's remains were moved to the new cemetery). (We found no records of the birth and death of George Sr.'s son (a twin), unnamed, born Oct. 29, 1832. We researched in Ann Arbor, Michigan and elsewhere. We do have a lot of record on daughter Rebecca (a twin) in this history.
George Prusia Sr. continued to be prosperous, and became quite wealthy, still continuing to operate his tannery, and also conducting a boot and shoe store, a harness shop and other branches of the leather goods business.
By 1832-1833 a sizeable group of German emigrants had settled in the Ann Arbor area and feeling became strong to have a German speaking Church of their own. In 1832, a Jonathan Henry Mann, representing the German settlers, sent a petition to the Evangelical Missionary Institute of Basel, Switzerland, asking that a pastor be sent to Ann Arbor. In answer to that petition, the Reverend Fredrick Schmid was sent, arriving in Ann Arbor August 20, 1833. Reverend Schmid first held services in a log schoolhouse in Scio Township, about 4 miles west of Court House Square in Ann Arbor. This was the first religious gathering of Germans in the Michigan Territory. A religious organization was created under the name of "The First German Evangelical Society of Scio". They decided to build a church building. Christian Prusia Jr. along with two others were elected on the third of November, 1833, as Trustees of the Society. They became known as the "Trustees of the First German Evangelical Society of Scio”.
Christian Prusia Jr. and George Caleb Prusia were both very active in contributing both money and time in the building of this Church. In December of 1834 the building was dedicated and called Zion Church. It was one and one-half miles from the Court House Square of Ann Arbor. A cemetery was established behind and on the side of the Church building.
The German Society in 1845 secured a lot on the northeast corner of First and Washington streets in Ann Arbor and had a new church erected, and dedicated on June 24, 1849. This church was called "Bethlehem Church”. Within a few years after that, services ceased to be held in the Scio church.
(Note: We [Ted and Cora Prusia] were in Ann Arbor in 1976 and at First and Washington now is large business buildings and no sign of a church). The Church is now located at 423 S. 4th Ave., Ann Arbor, Michigan.
After the death of Rebecca (Clayton) Prusia, George Sr. was married a second time, to Louisa Rosalia Snell.
Louisa Rosalia Snell was born in the year 1800 in Pennsylvania. We have no information on her parents. To this marriage five [editor’s note: the correct number is probably four] more children were born to the George Prusia Sr. family.
In 1841 George Caleb Prusia Sr. sold his tanning business in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He and his family moved to Jackson County, Iowa, where some of his children were already living, and became a farmer near Buckeye, Iowa, in Van Buren Township.
On August 30, 1845, Louisa Rosalia (Snell) Prusia died. She was 45 years of age. She was buried in a small cemetery about 2-1/2 miles northeast of Preston, Iowa.
Ted’s note regarding finding and moving the headstone of Louisa Prusia is moved to the end of this Bk3 Ch1.
On September 20, 1853, George Caleb Prusia Sr. married his third wife Frederica S. Dorale, in Jackson County, Iowa.
Frederica S. Dorale [other spellings seen are “Frederika” and “Fredericka”] was born December 14, 1837. Frederica was a daughter of Henry Dorale, who came to Iowa in 1851. A tombstone in Buckeye (Van Buren) Cemetery, northeast of Preston, Iowa, shows Henry Dorale, died November 20, 1891, age 93 years.